Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo. The series was conceptualized and created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. In Animal Crossing, the player character is a human who lives in a village inhabited by various anthropomorphic animals and can do various activities like fishing, insect catching, and fossil hunting. The series is notable for its open-ended gameplay and use of the video game console's internal clock and calendar to simulate real passage of time.
Tom Nook, known in Japan as Tanukichi (たぬきち), is a fictional character in the Animal Crossing series who operates the village store. He first appeared in the Nintendo 64 game Dōbutsu no Mori, released in Europe and North America on the GameCube as Animal Crossing. Nook sells a house to the player at the beginning of each title in the series, giving a set mortgage for them to pay, and offering to upgrade it after the mortgage is paid off. He has also made several appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series.
Totakeke, more commonly known as K.K. Slider or K.K., is a fictional character within the Animal Crossing franchise. One of the franchise's most popular characters, he debuted in the title Animal Crossing, and has appeared in every installment since. K.K.'s main role is as a musician who performs to the townsfolk, through live performances and purchasable in-game albums. He is based on Nintendo video game voice actor and composer Kazumi Totaka – his Japanese nickname "Totakeke" being a contraction of "Totaka K." – and has been said to be an animal caricature of Totaka.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf is a 2012 social simulation game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. In the game, the player controls a human character who takes on the role of mayor in a town populated with anthropomorphic animals. As the fourth main title in the Animal Crossing series, it was released in Japan in November 2012, and in 2013 in international territories.
Mr. Resetti, full name Sonny Resetti, is a fictional character from the Animal Crossing series of video games by Nintendo. His first appearance was in the Nintendo 64 game Dōbutsu no Mori, released in Europe and North America on the GameCube as Animal Crossing. Mr. Resetti is a mole whose role in the series is to remind players to save before quitting the game, and to give a lecture if they do not. Mr. Resetti has received mixed critical reception, with critics taking note of both the unique creativity and perceived hostility of his role.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, both commonly referred together as Super Smash Bros. 4, are 2014 crossover platform fighter video games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U video game consoles. It is the fourth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, succeeding Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The Nintendo 3DS version was released in Japan on September 13, 2014, and in North America, Europe, and Australia the following month. The Wii U version was released in North America, Europe, and Australia in November 2014 and in Japan the following month.
Mario Kart 8 is a 2014 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It retains the gameplay of previous games in the Mario Kart series, with players controlling a Mario franchise character in races around tracks. Tracks are themed around locales from the Super Mario platform series and are populated with power-ups that help players gain advantages in races. Different difficulties are selectable prior to a race; harder difficulties make gameplay faster. In the new anti-gravity sequences, players drive on walls and ceilings. Mario Kart 8 contains a variety of single-player and local and online multiplayer games modes, including Grand Prix racing and arena-based battle modes.
Animal Crossing Plaza was a free to play social networking service developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It was a spin-off of the Animal Crossing series, associated with Animal Crossing: New Leaf for the Nintendo 3DS. The application allowed players to socialize via Miiverse, Nintendo's now-defunct social networking service; players could share images from their New Leaf save file and interact with others, among other features. It was announced and released on August 7, 2013, in Japan and North America and the following day in Europe. The application is no longer actively supported by Nintendo, and was removed from the Nintendo eShop on December 22, 2014.
Amiibo is a toys-to-life platform by Nintendo, which was launched in November 2014. It consists of a wireless communications and storage protocol for connecting figurines to the Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Switch video game consoles. These figurines are similar in form and functionality to that of the Skylanders, Disney Infinity and Lego Dimensions series of toys-to-life platforms. The Amiibo platform was preannounced to potentially accommodate any form of toy, specifically including general plans for future card games. Amiibo use near field communication (NFC) to interact with supported video game software, potentially allowing data to be transferred in and out of games and across multiple platforms.
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer is a 2015 sandbox video game developed and published by Nintendo, with assistance from Monolith Soft, for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was released in Japan in July 2015, in North America in September 2015, and in PAL regions in October 2015. The game is a spin-off of the Animal Crossing series where the player has to design homes for various anthropomorphic animal characters. The game received mixed reviews from critics upon release, praising the creative freedom and improved design controls, but criticizing the lack of challenge, lack of reward, and the game not being DLC for Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and has sold 3.04 million copies worldwide as of March 2016.
Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival is a 2015 party video game developed by Nintendo and NDcube for the Wii U. Similar to the Mario Party series, the game is a spin-off of the Animal Crossing series that moves away from the series traditional format, instead being a party game that primarily integrates Amiibo figures into the gameplay. Alongside the release of the game, 8 Animal Crossing Amiibo character figures were released for use in the game. It was released worldwide in November 2015.
Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development Division, commonly abbreviated as Nintendo EPD, is the largest division within the Japanese video game company Nintendo. The division focuses on developing and producing video games, mobile apps, and other related entertainment software for the company. EPD was created after merging their Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD) and Software Planning & Development (SPD) divisions in September 2015.
Splatoon 2 is a 2017 third-person shooter game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was released on July 21, 2017, as a direct sequel to Splatoon. As with the previous installment, Splatoon 2 consists of online multiplayer alongside a single-player campaign, all featuring combat based around ink. An expansion pack for the single-player mode titled Octo Expansion was subsequently released as downloadable content (DLC) on June 13, 2018.
Arms is a 2017 fighting game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. The game differentiates itself from standard fighting games with its unconventional fighting system where every playable character fights with long range attacks and up to four players can choose a fighter and battle using a variety of extendable, weaponized arms to knock out opponents in a three-dimensional arena. Arms received generally favorable reviews from critics and sold over two million copies by July 2018.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is a 2017 free-to-play social simulation mobile game in Nintendo's Animal Crossing series for iOS and Android devices. It was released in Australia in October 2017 and worldwide the following month. The game continues the series of social simulations that allow players to interact with a small campsite with various campers, performing small tasks, engaging in commerce, and decorating living spaces.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a 2018 crossover fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, succeeding Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (2014). The game follows the series' traditional style of gameplay, in which players control one of the various characters and use attacks to weaken their opponents and knock them out of an arena. It features a wide variety of game modes, including a single-player campaign and multiplayer versus modes. Ultimate features 89 playable fighters, including all characters from previous Super Smash Bros. games as well as newcomers. The roster ranges from Nintendo characters to those from third-party franchises.
Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) is an online subscription service for the Nintendo Switch video game console. The service is Nintendo's third-generation online service after Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and Nintendo Network. Following an interim period which began with the launch of the Nintendo Switch where Nintendo offered online multiplayer free of charge and the launch of the Nintendo Switch Online Smartphone App on July 21, 2017, the subscription service officially launched on September 18, 2018.
Isabelle, known as Shizue (しずえ) in Japan, is a fictional character from the Animal Crossing series of video games. She is a gentle Shih Tzu that debuted in the 2012 release Animal Crossing: New Leaf, where she serves as the secretary to the player character.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a social simulation game developed and published by Nintendo in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch; it is the fifth main entry in the Animal Crossing series. In New Horizons, the player controls a character who moves to a deserted island after purchasing a getaway package from Tom Nook, accomplishes assigned tasks, and develops the island as they choose. They can gather and craft items, customize the island, and develop it into a community of anthropomorphic animals.
Raymond is a character in the Animal Crossing series, having first appeared in the 2020 release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Nintendo Switch, as well as an update in the 2017 mobile game Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. He is an anthropomorphic cat who may appear on a player's island in New Horizons and subsequently recruited as a villager to their island. He also appears in the manga adaptation of New Horizons, and has had merchandise created featuring him, including stickers, magnets, and plushes.
